San Antonio Spurs rookie sensation Dylan Harper shared his reaction after the Spurs lost to the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals.
The Spurs lost 94-90 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday, to lose the NBA Finals 4-1.
For a Spurs team that entered the finals as the betting favorites to win it all, it was certainly a bitter and disappointing end to the team’s season.
But for the 20-year-old Harper, who was drafted No. 2 overall by the Spurs last June out of Rutgers, it was an eye-opening experience to go through in his first season in the NBA.
Dylan Harper Shares Reaction After San Antonio Spurs Lose NBA Finals
Speaking to the media following the Spurs’ Game 5 loss at Frost Bank Center, Harper shared his thoughts about the team’s disappointing series loss to the Knicks.
“I think there’s a whole lot to grow on, a whole lot to learn on. At the end of the day, it’s my first year. Just got to keep a positive attitude. Obviously, we lost, and I want to win that, but at the end of the day, I got to reroute us back and get ready for next year,” Harper said.
The rookie admitted that the Spurs had an uneven performance in the finals, and there are certain plays the team wishes it had back. But in the end, they need to stay focused and look ahead to next season as they try to make another NBA Championship title run.
“With the good comes the bad. I think there’s a lot of possessions that we want to take back and do differently. But that’s not what happened, that’s not how the ball bounced, so we just have to keep going,” Harper said.
Will Dylan Harper Start for the Spurs Next Year?
Harper mostly came off the bench during his rookie season, one where he finished fourth overall in Rookie of the Year voting.
Next year, Harper hopes to get a starting role in the Spurs’ backcourt, but that can only happen if the Spurs can get off De’Aaron Fox’s monster contract extension of four years and $229 million.
That won’t be easy to do after Fox played awful during the NBA Finals. But the Spurs are going to have to do everything they can to move off his money and open up a starting spot for Harper.
Although he is one of the best sixth men in the league, Harper deserves a starting role. He is simply too good, too talented, and too skilled to be coming off the bench.
If he starts next year, it wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone if Harper were an NBA All-Star.
He is simply one of the NBA’s top young stars, and after he was one of the Spurs’ top players during the NBA Finals, it’s time the team gives him the keys to a starting spot in the backcourt alongside Stephon Castle.
But they have to move Fox first, and it won’t be easy to move his money, so it will be interesting to see what the team does this offseason.
Dylan Harper Reacts After San Antonio Spurs Lose NBA Finals